KarimaChristmas-Kelly

Position
Forward-Guard
Height
6-0
Weight
209 lbs
Birthdate
Sep 11, 1989
College/Country
Duke/USA
Draft
2011 Rnd 2 Pick 23
EXP
10 years
0
Karima Christmas-Kelly headshot
PPG
7.9
RPG
3.7
APG
1.3

About Karima

CAREER TRANSACTIONS:

Selected in the second round (23rd overall) by the Washington Mystics in the 2011 WNBA Draft on April 11, 2011. Waived by Washington on July 21, 2011.

Signed as a free agent with the Tulsa Shock on July 22, 2011.

Acquired by the Indiana Fever in exchange for Roneeka Hodges on July 2, 2012.

Signed with the Tulsa Shock as a restricted free agent on February 5, 2015.

WNBA AWARDS:

WNBA Champion (2012)

MILESTONES

Scored 1500th point on May 25, 2017

CAREER

2017

Started and played in all 34 games…. Played in her fourth playoff game on 9/6… Averaged 10.4 points, 4.2 rebounds, and 29.7 minutes per game… Recorded a new career high in points with 27 on 5/30 against Indiana… Also registered a career high in field goals made with 10… Shot her 1500th WNBA career point against San Antonio on 5/25 along with teammate Skylar Diggins-Smith… Played her 200th career game on 5/30… Recorded her 5000th career minute on 7/30.

2016

Only Wings player to start in all 34 games… Nominated for Most Improved Player… Surpassed a career best with 12.4 points per game, 5.9 rebounds per game and 2.1 assists per game…Ranked eighth in the league in minutes, averaging 31.6 minutes per game…Finished in the top 20 in steals (2.1) and rebounds (5.9)…Led the team in steals averaging 2.1 per game…Finished third for the Wings in rebounds with 5.9 per game and fourth in field goal percentage (.400)…Ranked in the top 10 for the team in 3-point and free throw percentage (6th in 3-point percentage at .400 and 8th in free throw percentage with a .796)…Broke a career high in a single game recording 15 rebounds at Atlanta on 7/8…Also broke a career high registering six assists versus Chicago on 5/29…Recorded four double-doubles, with the highest taking place in Atlanta on 7/8 with 18 points and 15 rebounds…Scored double figures in eight consecutive games and in 24 games overall

2015

Appeared in and started 32 games for the Tulsa Shock…Averaged a career-best 10.6 points per game and 5 rebounds per game…Also averaged career-highs in field goal (39.6%) and three point percentages (38.6%)…Averaged a career-high 28.7 minutes per game…Set a career-high for assists in a game (5) against San Antonio at home on June 16…Set season-high for minutes played with 36 at Phoenix on August 4…Scored a career-high 24 points on July 11 against Los Angeles… Set season-high marks for free throws made with 11 that game…Set career-highs for offensive rebounds with 7 at San Antonio on June 14 and defensive rebounds with 8 at Atlanta on July 7…Also tied a career-high for total rebounds on July 2 with ten…Shot a season-best 75 percent (6-of-8) from the field on July 11…Ranked sixth in the WNBA in three point percentage with 38.6%…Reached the 1,000 career points mark at home versus Phoenix on August 18

2014

Appeared in all 34 games for the Indiana Fever, starting three… Averaged 6.9 points per game and 3.6 rebounds per game in 21.6 minutes per game… Shot 34.3 percent from the field and 38.6 from the three… Starting in her first game of the season, Christmas scored a team high and season-high 18 points at Minnesota on June 22, tying a career-high in 3-pointers made with three…  Also in Minnesota pulled down a season-high eight rebounds, tied her career-high in blocks with three and set a new career-high in steals with five… In her second start on June 25 in Tulsa, scored 17 points and a season-high 16 field goal attempts… Tied her season-high 18 points and grabbed a season-high nine rebounds in Atlanta on July 1… Ranked ninth in the WNBA in three point percentage with 38.6 percent.

2013

Appeared in all 34 games for the Indiana Fever, starting 28… Averaged career-highs with 8.6 points and 4.1 rebounds… Scored a career-high 21 points in an overtime loss in Connecticut on September 15… Ranked among the WNBA’s most improved scorers (+5.4 points per game) from 2012, scoring in double figures in seven straight games… Posted the first double-double of her career with 16 points and ten rebounds at Atlanta on June 25… In the playoffs, started all four playoff games… Led the team in points with 15.8 and assists with 2.5 per game… Had a playoff career-high of 16 points and grabbed nine rebounds in Chicago September 20… Finished with 15 points, six rebounds and four assists in a loss in Atlanta on September 2.

2012

Appeared in 16 games for the Indiana Fever… Averaged 2.9 points and 2.3 rebounds per game… Scored in double figures for the first time in a Fever jersey when she scored ten points and added a career-high seven rebounds, three steals and one blocked shot against Tulsa on September 23… In her first playoff appearance, Christmas played in three of the four WNBA Finals games, averaging 3.0 points and 2.7 rebounds… In Game 4 of the Finals against Minnesota on October 21, she finished with seven points, five rebounds and one blocked shot… Appeared in 14 games for the Tulsa Shock, starting six… Averaged 3.6 points, 1.9 rebounds and 11.5 minutes per game.

2011

Appeared in 17 games for the Tulsa Shock… Averaged 9.9 minutes, 3.2 points and 1.2 rebounds a game… Had her best game with the Shock against the Phoenix Mercury on September 8, when she recorded 12 points and four rebounds… Appeared in 14 games for the Washington Mystics… Averaged 10.1 minutes, 3.4 points and 1.2 rebounds per game… Scored a season- high 13 points against Indiana on June 21.

BACKGROUND

COLLEGE

Became the 27th player in Duke history to score over 1,000 points in her career (1,052)… Averaged 4.7 rebounds per contest in her four years and tallied 204 steals and 160 assists… Helped Duke to back-to-back ACC regular season and tournament titles… Finished her career ranked 10th in school history in steals. 2010-11: Selected to the Philadelphia Regional All-Tournament Team and to the All-ACC Tournament First Team… Played in 36 games with 35 starts, averaging 9.5 points per game and pulling down 6.3 rebounds, 1.7 assists and 1.6 steals… Scored double-digits in 16 games including four games with 20 points or more… Scored a season-high 23 points in a 70-63 win over 10th-ranked DePaul in the NCAA Tournament regional semifinal, including hitting 7-of-16 in field goals and 9-of-14 free throws… Earned four double-doubles on the year… She went over 1,000 career points in the ACC Championship game against 19th-ranked North Carolina. 2009-10: As a junior, Christmas started 18-of-36 games, averaging 9.6 points, 5.3 rebounds, 1.5 assists and 2.2 steals with a field goal percentage of 43.1… Reached double-figures in 18 contests… Was a Memphis Regional All-Tournament Team honoree and selected to the All-ACC Tournament first team… Scored a career-high 25 points in a win over Maryland… Posted her second double-double of the season against Baylor in the NCAA Tournament with ten points and 12 rebounds… Started three straight games during the ACC Tournament, averaging 13.0 points, 3.7 rebounds and 3.3 steals… Grabbed a career-high 14 rebounds against Temple. 2008-09: As a sophomore, she earned a starting spot in two of the 33 contests and averaged 7.5 points, 4.2 rebounds, 1.0 assists and 1.4 steals… Shot 49.4 percent from the field, posting a season scoring high against Miami collecting 21 points, six steals, and hitting three three-pointers… She pulled down 13 rebounds versus Michigan State in the NCAA Tournament… She hit 17-of-37 from 3-point land for a 45.9 percentage, which ranked fifth all-time on Duke’s season charts. 2007-08: Coming off the bench in 30 games, Christmas averaged 4.1 points and 2.6 rebounds as a freshman… Reached double-figure scoring on two occasions against Penn State and N.C. Central, and pulled down a season-high seven boards against Virginia Tech… Shot 52.1 percent of her field goals.

PERSONAL

Karima Brittany Christmas was born September 11, 1989 in Long Beach, Calif… She is the daughter of Byron and Jennita Christmas, and has one brother, David, and three sisters, Shelly, Krishma and Kristy… Was married to Austin Kelly on April 13, 2017… Her AAU coaches, Fred and Lola Reed were like second parents… Has a god-brother, Fred Reed, Jr…. Majored in sociology at Duke… Christmas was a four-year letterwinner at J. Frank Dobie H.S. under Head Coach Doug Gibson, where she was a 2007 Parade Magazine fourth team All-America… Played in the WBCA H.S. All-America game and scored four points while pulling down five rebounds… Was a three-time All-District selection and TABC All-Region honoree… Received two-time All-District 23-5A honors and was MVP of her H.S. squad in 2005 and 2007… As a senior, she averaged 18.7 points, 9.6 rebounds, 4.1 steals and 3.2 assists while leading her squad to a 32-7 record… Was a three-time Street & Smith’s Honorable Mention All-America… In final recruiting rankings, Christmas was listed 13th by the All-Star Girls Report, 21st by BBALLX.com, 31st by Hoopgurlz and 38th by Blue Star Report … Sidelined with an injury during her junior campaign, she averaged 10.8 points, 4.7 rebounds, 2.8 assists and 4.3 steals in eight contests… As a sophomore, she averaged 13.3 points, 7.4 rebounds, 3.0 steals and 2.7 assists and earned District MVP honors… She posted averages of 9.8 points, 5.4 rebounds. 1.9 steals and 1.7 assists as a freshman… She was a member of the CY Fair Elite AAU team that placed fifth nationally and was knocked out of the tournament by Duke teammate Jasmine Thomas’ team… She was also a four-year letterwinner in track & field, finishing third in the regional qualifier for the triple jump as a senior… Was the district champion

in the triple jump… Lettered in volleyball as a freshman and sophomore and was a member of the Superintendent’s Student Council.

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